"See what
love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children
of God; and that is what we are." (I John 3:1) A
significant part of our identity is being a child of God. How
often do you use that information when you are asked to describe
yourself? Our latest creed begins, "In life and in death
we belong to God." Being
God's child is meant to inform us of who we are and whose we
are.
However, it is possible many have fallen victim to a new form
of identity theft. In normal identity theft, someone else attempts
to use our identity to gain a financial advantage using our assets.
In this new form of identity theft, others attempt to convince
us we are not who we really are but rather something else.
In the Old Testament the identity of being a child of God was
of utmost importance. We read the following in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: "Hear,
O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding
you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk
about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you
lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand,
fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates."
What the author is telling us is God is saying His Word is to
be ever before us but we seem to have forgotten this admonition.
It is not so much that others have stolen our identity as it
is a matter of our having given it away. It's as if we
are ashamed of our faith identity. Not all that long ago business
people in the community wanted to be seen in church. It was good
for business. Not so today! Christianity in America has fallen
on hard times. Perhaps we don't want to be associated with
radicals on either the left or the right. We don't want
to be seen as naive fundamentalists nor do we want to be associated
with the liberal element which seems to embrace undesirable people.
Christianity is not the only institution to have fallen on hard
times. In an attempt to foster individual freedom we have as
a society developed an attitude that almost anything goes as
long as it doesn't do another bodily harm.
I refer to an article on p. 68 of the April 2006 Homiletics magazine. "That
to which we refer are the events that happen everyday on the
streets or the soccer fields of America, in the schoolroom or
in the boardroom, the mall or the office, intemperate language,
aggressive assertion of individual rights, boorish manners, underwear
that is not under our wear, impatience and even hostility toward
those of a different opinion.
There's more: shouting, shoving, demanding, asserting,
accusing, posturing, and condemning—but enough about
Congress."
We return to the second verse of I John 3. "Beloved,
we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet
been revealed. What we do know is this: when He is revealed,
we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is." In
contemporary words, we will be like Christ or at least we are
supposed to be. For years there was a national campaign calling
people to "Be like Mike!" meaning to imitate the
great basketball star, Michael Jordan. Who are our role models
today and what are they like? Are they worthy of our emulation?
Who says they get to create the standards? Well, we do if we
allow them to determine such things.
The fact that we are loved by God and are called God's
children ought to have some bearing on how we live our lives.
Jesus tells us we are to love others as God loves us. Among other
things this means we are to have concern and respect for others.
We are meant to be in the repentance and forgiveness business.
We are to help those in need showing compassion and mercy. We
are to work for social justice out of concern for others on both
sides of social justice issues. We are to be people of prayer
in order to discern what God's will is for our daily lives.
Being children of God calls us to be childlike not childish.
Increasingly we see evidence of childish behavior at all levels.
Think about how these precepts from The Toddler Property Laws
apply: If I like it, it's mine. If I can take it from you,
it's mine. If I had it a while ago, it's mine. If
I think it's mine, it's mine. No matter what, it's
mine! We laugh somewhat uneasily as we think of a two year old's
behavior being lived out by people who are much older.
Being a child of God is about character. It is knowing who we
are and accepting and practicing it without shame. In the movie Pretty
Woman, Julia Roberts begins to assume a different identity
as she is taught to dress and act differently by businessman
Richard Gere. Mr. Gere is also taught a few things about honesty
and respect for others by Miss Roberts, who has these traits
from the outset of the movie.
Last year the commissioner of the National Basketball Association
initiated a dress code for players. This no doubt was done to
combat the image of the players being thugs following incidents
of violence both on and off the court. In the last Olympics we
saw what happens when star athletes are more committed to self-centered
behavior than to the discipline necessary to be champions.
We in the Christian community have a calling to follow the standards
established by Jesus. We are to live those standards and teach
those stories and standards to our children so they will not
lose sight of who they are and whose they are.
I always knew when someone said I was Jim Bell's boy I
was being paid a very high compliment because of the reputation
my father had in our community. I think the same thing applies
when someone says to us, "I see you are a child of God." The
question before us is what we are doing or not doing that would
cause others to say such a thing.
Easter people are witnesses that Jesus Christ is risen from
the dead and is who He claims to be. Easter people are to love
others and invite them to repentance and forgiveness. Easter
people are those equipped and led by the Holy Spirit. Easter
people are those whose lives make a difference. Easter people
live lives that allow others to see God. You are called to be
Easter people. |
